What are DS options?

[DeraDivel]

We moved back to the UK last summer and DS went from year 8 to year 10 as an August born child. He had been primarily educated in a non English speaking Country in a boutique private school with small classes and English as the second language.

And even though he speaks English very well, he does not have the skills to sit his English GCSE.
The school we enrolled him at was very rough and he was heavily bullied and he refused to go to school. He stayed home most of the year and we had a key worker.

This year we managed to transfer him to another school in the burough.

he has a lot of gaps in his learning and even though he’s doing well now he has had to take different subjects and he’s doing different exam boards in some subjects. Therefore, it looks like he’s getting threes and fours in all subjects except for Science where he looks like he’s getting a five or six.
I am unsure how to proceed with this. I have suggested to him that we get some tuition help which he refuses. He also does not have the motivation to sit down every day and study for hours.

I know with a little push he could do better and perhaps getting into a six thform.
I would really Appreciate any advice about his options. he does not know what he wants to study. He’s good at maths and science.

what are options that are available to him? Could he study at a college? Can you apply to 6th forms with these low predicted grades?
He’s also very emotionally immature. I can’t imagine him getting a part time job or having the responsibility to do an apprenticeship.

Thank you in advance..

the reasons for your move in the first place given the situation it landed your son in… must have been very compelling

He will need to pass English gcse(or level 2 equivalent) probably language more than literature although some colleges accept either. Focus on achieving the best grades in the basic five so English tuition would be useful. What other subjects is he taking?

He stayed home most of the year and we had a key worker.

what is a key worker?

He was at a private school… we’re the funds not available for same here?

He’ll have the option to resit English and maths at college. But he’ll need to work hard and study and it doesn’t sound like he’s motivated for that.
Not sure why the offer of tuition is optional to him since he’s not even attending school?
If he fails all his GCSEs then he’s going to have very few options if any

Yeh agree he will need to pass Eng lang at least (grade 4+) so I would suggest a tutor. If not he will need to keep retaking it which is a PITA for students esp if they are not keen on it. Much better to get it in year 11.

Many sixth forms require grades of 6 or above in chosen A level subjects, tho if he can show good reasons (sounds like he has them) why not, and demonstrate that he is now keen and committed to doing well then a sixth form may accept him. They have that discretion.

Is he in year 11? What sort of level for maths? Might be worth getting tuition there as well.

In general those grades would not be good enough for a levels at sixth form however the fact that English is his second language means that with additional time or support he could do better.

If he was in private in your original country you would be better off putting him in private in this country as he could then restart year 10 and give home time for his English to improve enough that his grades actually reflect what he is capable of.

If you can't put him in private then I would focus on passing (one of) the Englishes and maths. The language needed for the maths paper is quite formulaic and easy to learn.

He could then possibly go to college to do BTECs. You might be able to persuade a big FE college that does a levels to let him on them, but selective sixth forms will be out.

He could definitely re-take GCSEs at college. English and maths certainly, and some colleges will offer others. Your best bet is probably to approach local colleges and see what they offer. He would also be able to get into 6th form, but it is unlikely he would be accepted for A-levels with such low GCSEs, so you’d need to look at other types of course in subjects he is interested in. Maybe something practical?

You say “ I have suggested to him that we get some tuition help which he refuses. He also does not have the motivation to sit down every day and study for hours” and also that he is emotionally immature. Does he have some kind of learning difficulty or disability? What does he find hard about studying, or why does he refuse to get a tutor? I mean if he is just a bit behind because of his missed learning to do with the move, then as a parent I think you say he needs to get some extra tuition because he has missed a year of education and not got a good English grounding because of the ill timed move. It is just not something he is allowed to refuse. Does he actually find studying extra hard anyway? What was he like in his old school before you moved?

Hi again,
We basically escaped a DV situation. My ex had an affair and was refusing to divorce me. He also has the right to keep the kids in the country in case of divorce therefore keeping us hostage until both my children were 18.It took my ex a few years to agree to a separation and my takinv the kids.
He is currently taking double geography, business studies and history.
He has always gotten very good marks in his exams but he does have ADHD and impulsiveness amongst other things. We have given the diagnosis to the school. he has never been able to concentrate very long on anything.
In our previous country, private schools were very cheaply priced. I could afford to put both my children into school on my salary. But here I can cover the rent and living expenses. My ex sends a couple of hundred pounds over every month so it’s not enough to put him into a private school.
Last year when he didn’t go to school, they got in touch with the burough and the council gave us a key worker. She would come around or call once a week and try to give ideas to get him back into school. I think the workers are available to everyone if they are struggling with their kids. The school can make an enquiry or even yourself..
He’s year 11 and he’s getting good marks in science and maths however because he has missed so many topics that he needs to cover I am afraid he won’t do well in the general exam.
I would be covering his tuition costs. You can get group lessons or university students who tutor quite cheaply.
we were hoping that he would be put down the year because we had some friends who made the same move and their children were older than him and they were put down a year. However, his school initially refused because they wouldn’t get funding if he was put in the wrong year group. And the new school also refuses.
I think he’s been through a lot and also when he came here, he was targeted at the first school because he was new. He wasn’t used to the banter and the roughness. There was quite a lot of violence at his school. Also, he was used to being in the top sets but they didn’t look at his report card and they didn’t test him. They just put him in the lowest set with a lot of kids who were very unmotivated to learn and Were basically managing the classes. There was no learning involved. Thankfully, his new school is much smaller and there seems to be a lot of learning involved in the lessons.
Thank you so much for letting me know about my options. I think I will speak to some colleges and six forms this month.
I will try to convince him to sit down and start studying so that he can at least get some minimum grades

Sounds like you have all had a tough time OP. It's not the end of the world if he doesn't get a whole load of GCSEs at the end of year 11. A college where he could study something that interests him either at level 2 or maybe level 3, along with an English gcse resit may suit him, our local one does applied science for example. Or perhaps science / maths type of a levels if he's that way inclined, maybe even consider economics, business health science etc as possible options? There are so many options now days, especially at colleges.

It's like that ad that's out at the moment - some children carry more than others.

It might be worth a conversation with school about whether he could drop some subjects to free up time for catch up or tuition. Tutoring might be more acceptable to him if it's traded off with something else. Not all schools will accommodate, or if they do it might be only if you can pick him up for free periods, but no harm in asking.

It's fairly common for schools to put on extra English and maths in one GCSE slot, specifically to give extra learning time to those who are struggling.

Yes, some colleges take students from age 14 but you need to enquire locally. Moving in Y11 can be harder. His other option if you can pay for it might be to restart Y10 in online school, but I don't even know if that would be possible and it would be a big life change. It would make it easier to drop the number of subjects though. Also start looking at Level 2 courses at colleges for next year. Usually they are for those who don't get the grades for A level/level 3 study but if they pass them, they can then be admitted onto the Level 3 course. Having a fallback that they are happy with it they don't get the grades they hope for can take the pressure off a lot. Everyone can have 3 years at college - the sector is called 16-19 after all - so he could absolutely do a level 2 course and then spend 2 years doing level 3.

Maths and sci options with lower grades include Computer Science vocational courses, Applied Science BTEc Level 2 and 3. A BTec can be a route to uni and they do exams as they go rather than all at the end. Colleges vary hugely in what grades they require for post 16 courses. I've noticed in particular a huge variation in what prequisites they have for Physics.